


Your love is a friend of mine.

by orphan_account



Category: Faking It (TV 2014)
Genre: F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Multi, Original Character(s), different kind of faking it, everyone loves amy, lots of people kissing amy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-29
Updated: 2014-06-15
Packaged: 2018-01-21 05:08:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1538834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amy is heartbroken after a bad breakup with longtime girlfriend, Ellie. Her best friend Shane tries his best to help Amy move on, not leading to much success. Enter Karma, Amy’s childhood best friend who offers to play the role of Amy’s rebound in order to make Amy’s ex jealous and realize what she’s missing. It seems like the best laid plan, until feelings step in to complicate things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The breakup.

“What time is it?"

“7:30.” Shane Harvey replied, not looking up from his phone. It was a typical morning for him, lying in bed texting his boyfriend, house hunter’s playing on his TV in the background (He was too lazy and warm to reach out and find the remote on the other side of the bed). The lump on the right side of the bed groans and turns on its side, facing him. A commercial about gardening later, blonde hair and green eyes peek out from under the top of the covers, squinting in the light of the room. “Have I been asleep since you picked me up?” Amy’s sleepy voice is groggy and weak, and Shane just nods, turning his phone towards her.

“Smile, Princess.”

Amy just sticks her middle finger up, and thankfully Shane doesn’t use flash.

“Oli was worried you’d died or something.” He sends the picture to his boyfriend, adding a quick text of ‘It’s alive.’ before pocketing his phone and turning to Amy, snuggling under the covers and facing the blonde.

“Are you ready to talk about it?”  Shane asked quietly, hand reaching up to move strands of hair away from her face. He noticed her eyes were still a little puffy and red; not at all looking like the carefree girl he’d just gone for coffee with last week. Amy had been one of Shane’s closest friends for the past two years, but he’d never seen her so upset. Of course, there had never been any real reason for her to be so distraught. Sure, there had been fights with her parents and stress over finals, but nothing he’d helped her through had ever been to this scale. Nothing had ever broken Amy’s heart, and Shane’s along with it, like her losing Ellie.

When Amy had called Shane in the wee hours of the morning that Saturday, Shane had been sleeping peacefully next to Oli, and ignored the first call because he was half awake, fully naked, and there was no reason to leave his boyfriend’s bed. Surely, the call could wait until after he’d had his morning tea. On the second call, Oli nudged him and half-pushed him out of bed, telling him to just turn it off and come back to bed. After a little stumbling around to find his clothes where he had left them in the dark, Shane finally found the ringing phone in the pocket of his jeans on the other side of the room. He squinted in the dark to see that the calls were from Amy.

“You do realize it’s three in the morning, right?” he greeted with an annoyed tone, his heart immediately sinking with guilt when he heard soft crying from the other end of the line.

It took them about twenty minutes to get dressed and drive over to Amy’s house, where they found her bedroom light on upstairs. With a supportive peck on the cheek from Oli, Shane had quietly went through the front door and up the stairs, where he could hear music coming from Amy’s open bedroom door. He didn’t really know what to expect, since Amy had just told them to pick her up, voice cracked and blurred with crying.  As he leaned against the door frame, he just watched. Amy was still dressed from the day before, her hair braided and resting on one shoulder. She seemed calm, just standing at her desk and packing things into a box with her back to him. At closer glance, He realized that all the things going into the box had one thing in common: _Ellie._

There were at least a dozen pictures of the two of them, from photo booth strips to polaroids to pictures printed out from Instagram. There were books, magazines, movies. Quite a bit of mixtapes and CD’s. Letters that had been ripped from journals and sprayed with perfume. There were hoodies and two pairs of socks, a denim mini skirt, and pink lace panties. They were all hers, or theirs. They had been there in Amy’s room for as long as Shane had known her. But in the end, Amy calmly packed three years of her life into a box, and turned to Shane. She quickly wiped away the tears running down her cheeks, looking a bit embarrassed but mostly just tired. He opened his mouth to say something, although he wasn’t sure what yet, but Amy stopped him, closing her eyes. She turned back to the desk and lifted up the box, walking over to Shane and handing it to him. Without a word, she turned off the music, and the lights, and led Shane back downstairs. In the car, Oli took the box and placed it in the trunk without any questions, and looked over at his boyfriend, as if to ask what to do next.

“Amy, Can you just tell us what happe—“

“No.” Amy said firmly, cutting him off. She looked at Oli, tears still brimming in her eyes. “Just keep the box in your car for now; I don’t want it where I can get to it.” Oli started the car and drove away from Amy’s house, back towards Shane’s.  Shane watched Amy through the rearview mirror, but didn’t say anything. She looked out the window for a long while, and then laid down in the backseat and fell asleep. The rest of the car ride was silent.

When the three of them arrived in Shane’s Driveway, He looked over at Oli apologetically.  His parents were coming home from vacation the next morning, and they’d both thought they’d have a little more time together.

“Sorry. I think she needs me. I’ll text you in the morning when we wake up, okay?” Oli just nodded, always so understanding. After a soft kiss goodbye, Oli carefully gathered Amy into his arms and followed Shane into the house. He set her down on Shane’s bed and left, closing the front door behind him. Amy just curled in on herself and fell into a deeper sleep. Shane sighed and put on HGTV, which would help him fall right asleep and maybe put Amy in a decent mood when she woke up. He lied down on the top of his comforter beside her, and sleep took him as well.

Now, in the bright light of the morning shining through the window of Shane’s bedroom, Amy knows she needs to explain. After all, it’s not every day she needs to leave her house in the middle of the night to avoid mental breakdown.

“Breakfast first?” They suggest simultaneously, and they both smile, but Amy’s is more faded and tired than the one she usually wears.

Shane’s mom had already made bacon and eggs, and Shane warmed them up in the microwave while Amy pulled out her phone and checked her messages. There was a sweet message from Oli, a couple from her mom asking where she ‘had gone off to this time’. One from her Granny, wishing her a happy birthday (for the third time this year).

“Alright, spill.” Shane sat across from her at the table, placing a plate of food and a glass of orange juice before her.

After a sip of juice and a long sigh, Amy dove into explaining what happened.

“You remember how Ellie told me she was hanging out with that girl from her dance class? Sam?” Shane nodded.  “Well, as it turns out, Sam is pretty damn sexy.”

Amy pulled up snapshots on her phone, sliding it across the table to Shane. His eyebrows rose, seeing the brunette on the screen wearing a low cut top biting her lip and posing suggestively, looking toward the camera.

“Alright, But what the hell does she have on you?”

“Apparently a lot. Read the texts.” Amy looked down at her plate then, cutting her egg in half again and again while she waited for Shane’s reaction. He read for a few minutes, brows furrowing as he scrolled down. “This little bitch!” he muttered to himself, looking up at Amy a moment later with a shocked expression. “Did she really break up with you over text message after fingering some basic bitch in the back of her fucking second hand jeep?”

“Shane Edward Harvey! Language!” His mother remarked from the other room.

“What the fuck?” He continued, ignoring his mom’s loud, disappointed sigh.

Amy just shrugged her shoulders, downing the rest of her orange juice. “I went over to her house after she told me, tried to work things out. It was stupid; I was practically begging her to stay with me. Forgave her and everything, like ‘yeah, it’s totally okay that you cheated on me with some girl you barely know after I’ve been with you the past three years’. And then I got home, and I saw that everything in my room screamed _us_ , and I just couldn’t… I’m not even upset about it anymore, I just feel so stupid…W-what if this wasn’t the only time?” she looked back up, her lip shaking and tears rushing back and threatening to spill over.   
“Oh, honey. That’s not true.” Shane rushed over and hugged her close to his chest, letting her cry for a couple minutes. “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s not your fault. You did absolutely everything to make Ellie happy.  It’s totally her loss. I mean, look at you.”

Amy laughed at that, sniffling and rubbing at her eyes. “That really means a lot coming from someone who was too busy with his boyfriend to answer my phone calls last night…Sorry about that, by the way.”

Shane just shrugged, placing his hands on both her shoulders. “I just want to be here for you. I know this is going to be really hard, but you’re doing the right thing. If she can’t be happy with what she’s got, then let her move on to whomever from dancing school. She’ll be missing you soon enough … maybe by tonight even.” Shane smirked, kissing her forehead.

Amy smiled, picking her phone up and standing, clearing the table and putting their dishes in the sink. “Yeah, you’re right. As always. I think I’m okay. Tell Oli to drop that box off at her house, and take me home. I’m gonna go watch Netflix and order a pizza.”

Shane smiled, throwing an arm over her shoulder.

“There’s my Amy. Thought i’d lost her for a minute there.”


	2. The hook up.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy has a little detour in getting over her ex.

On Monday, nothing changes at school. The world of Hester high did not stop turning just because Amy Raudenfeld was single now. Although, going by the sympathetic glances she got in the hallway, it seemed that everyone was well aware of what had happened. Still, Amy refused to look like she cared. She walked into school alone for the first time in a long time, and headed straight to her locker. She opened it without thinking, and was instantly greeted by a picture of the two of them smiling and holding each other close. It was from their vacation to Disneyland last summer. Ellie looked like she loved Amy in that picture, her dark curls sticking out from underneath her Minnie Mouse ears, tanned arms wrapped lovingly around Amy’s waist as the both of them wore big smiles for the camera.

Amy could feel stares aimed at her back, like someone was behind her and watching to see if she would freak out and run down the hallway in tears or something. Amy repeated what Shane and Oli had told her the night before in her head.

_Don’t let her see you cry. Be strong. Count to ten. It doesn’t matter what they think, anyway._

With a breath to steady herself, Amy took the picture down and ripped it in half, shoving it to the back of her locker and grabbing her history textbook before slamming the door of her locker.

“Are you okay?”

Amy spun around, ready to lash out at whoever had the nerve to –  _oh._  It was just Karma.

“Oh, Hey. Sorry, I, um…” Amy tried to create a sentence, but failed. She didn’t remember the last time she spoke to Karma other than small talk in class, and now was definitely not the time to talk about their latest English assignment.

“I know. I’m sorry about that, by the way.” Karma said, glancing to the locker, which was closed but still unlocked. She stepped forward, clicking up the lock and turning the knob. “Um, I don’t really know Ellie, but … it’s pretty messed up.”

Great, even Amy’s childhood friends knew her girlfriend…  _Ex-girlfriend_ … liked to fuck other girls in her jeep.

“Yeah, it’s pretty messed up to me too.” Amy agreed quietly, trying to focus her mind on anything else. Puppies. The crap TV filling her DVR. The leftover pizza. The way Ellie used to fuck her in her jeep…

“Amy? Um… Amy? Raudenfeld!” Karma laughed awkwardly as Amy snapped out of it, and she looked as if she was going to ask something before being interrupted by the ringing of the warning bell.  She smiled softly instead, throwing a caring and concerned look to Amy before turning on her heels. “Don’t be late.” She called over her shoulder and disappeared into the crowded hallway.

In History, Amy was determined not to be distracted by her own thoughts. She didn’t have Shane this period, but Oli and a couple of their friends from newspaper were there, and they all made a point of stopping by Amy’s desk before the class ended, just to say hi or to talk about their weekend. It was appreciated, and by the end of first period, Amy didn’t feel so nervous. Fifth period, Art with Ellie, seemed like a world away.

She tried to go through her day in a normal pattern, and for the most part it was almost easy to forget all of the spaces in her day that had once been filled by Ellie. During second and third period, she took all her notes and didn’t check her phone once. When fourth period came, there was a quiz to focus on. During lunch, she was relieved to see that Shane and Oli were waiting for her at their usual lunch table, along with some of her other school friends. No one mentioned the empty seat across from Amy because Shane had put Oli’s camera bag there. She was able to make small talk about books and the new album of whatever band, she even smiled. It made Shane light up, so she made her best effort to make it look real.

When the bell rang announcing that lunch was over and it was time for everyone to go to fifth period, Amy went numb. It wasn’t so much that she couldn’t move, she sort of just went into auto-pilot, not feeling anything.

“Call me if you need me, okay? I’ll be skipping anyway; I have to help drama club with staging.” Shane told her outside the art room, giving her a quick hug before walking off toward the stairs. Amy took a breath to steady herself, and walked confidently into the art room.

They were painting this grading term, so easels were set up in little triangles around the room. Amy took her half-finished art piece from where it was stored in the closet and found her paint. Auto-pilot. She set her backpack down on the bench and started mixing paints. Auto-pilot. She smiled at the two girls who chose the easels next to hers. Auto-pilot. And when Ellie walked into the room, announcing her arrival by the sound of her signature combat boots, Amy looked up and right at her.

Auto-pilot.

_Crap, she totally saw me_ Amy thought to herself, quickly looking back to her paint, mixing black and blue. It was inevitable, since they would be in fifth period art together for the rest of the year, but Amy didn’t think it would happen so soon.

Amy remained calm. It didn’t seem like Ellie was going to bother her, so she just continued her painting. She didn’t think of her until twenty minutes into class when she heard Ellie walking towards her.

“Can I borrow a paintbrush?” was the first thing Ellie said to her. It didn’t really make sense considering there was a full canister in the supply closet, but if that’s the ice breaker she was choosing, so be it. Amy just handed over a fresh brush, hand shaking slightly, avoiding eye contact. She couldn’t do it yet. She knew the second she saw those blue eyes she would break.

"Amy, look at me." Ellie said softly, trying to keep it between them, although Amy felt as though everyone in the class was watching her. "Please." She insisted.

Slowly, she looked up.

She was still beautiful to Amy; being hurt wasn’t going to change that. Her big curls framed her face, and her cheeks were still bright and peach-tinted. Her light blue eyes seemed almost happy, but her smile didn’t reach them. Amy noticed she was wearing a necklace she hadn’t given her.

"Things ended badly on Saturday. I think….I think you should come over later. We can talk and…" Ellie paused, looking around them before stepping closer, her hand resting on the curve of Amy’s back. Her touch sent ice rushing through Amy’s veins. She wanted to kiss her neck and punch her to the ground at the same time.

"Just one last time." She whispered against Amy’s skin, her hand falling lower on Amy’s back.

"Okay," Amy agreed before she could think about it. "I’ll bribe oli to bring me over."

"See you at five." And she was gone, leaving Amy frozen.

 

"If you drive me to Ellie’s, I promise to never give Shane the pictures from spring break."

Oli looked up from his laptop, confused. He shifted his glasses and took a pen out of his mouth. “What are you on about?”

Amy sighed and sat next to him on the sofa in the empty photography classroom. “I don’t have a car, so I need you to drive me to Ellie’s. Right now.” She was firm. It didn’t work.

"Do you have any idea what Shane would do to me if he finds out? Which he will because he knows everything. Even Spring Break." Oli shakes his head, laughing. "I can’t Amy. Besides, I thought you never wanted to see her again."

"We’re just going to talk." Oli gave her a look, probably remembering all the times Amy and Ellie had gone upstairs at Shane’s parties to ‘talk’.  She sighed and, putting on her best begging face, cuddled into his side and looked up at him. " _Pleeeease._  Shane won’t find out. We’ll sneak away before the bell rings and head to hers. All you have to do is drop me off and wait for me to call. I’ll even give you money to go shopping.”

Oli considered it for a moment, before shutting his laptop with a look of defeat. “Okay, fine. You win.”

With a smile, Amy followed him out to his car and texted Ellie that she was on her way.

When they arrived at the familiar blue-painted house with the wrap-around porch, Amy was quick to open the door, but Oli took her arm, holding her back.

“Just be careful, okay?”

Quiet as he was, Amy knew that there was a lot more to Oli than what he let on at school. She’d only seen glimpses of it, but the way Shane talked about him; you’d think he was the Earth’s source of light. He gave her a careful smile and let her arm go, and Amy smiled back before rushing up to the porch. She knew Oli cared, and was just trying to look out for her, but she knew what she was doing. She’d had time to think about what she wanted to say, and she knew what she needed to do to move on once and for all. She had a plan.

The only problem was, Amy’s plans never worked.

The thing about Ellie’s bedroom was that it always smelled like vanilla candles, but she didn’t own any vanilla candles. It was just how her room existed, and everything still felt the same. It was comforting, lying in her bed, listening to the comforter shift underneath them as Ellie crawled onto the bed and held herself above Amy. She didn’t protest when Ellie kissed her, although her mind kept telling her to stop as minutes passed by. Instead, she cupped her face in her hands and pulled her closer, letting her in. Ellie moved on to her jawbone, then her neck, kisses travelling lightly down to her collarbone, and continuing on to the curve of her chest.

Amy closed her eyes and pushed back the little voice in her head that told her that this was really, really bad, because it felt really,  _really,_  good.

Ellie’s hands slid underneath Amy’s top, and okay, that was a little unexpected. Carefully, she pushed away her hand, voice soft as he made a small noise of protest. “El, no. We can’t.”

Blue eyes peered up at her through thick eyelashes. “I thought this is what you wanted.”

Amy sits up, leaning against the headboard. “It’s not, because it’s not going to fix anything. I’m just going to end up hating myself more.”

Ellie flops down dramatically next to her on her back, staring at the glo-star stickers on her ceiling. “Look, We had a good run Amy. But it’s better to end it now than drag a dead horse along. We both know we haven’t been okay for months now.” She twirled the silver necklace around her finger, a dreamy look in her eyes. “And then I met Sam, and god, Amy, She just … she makes me feel…” She closes her eyes, imagining, a little giggle coming from her. “It’s incredible. You deserve to find someone who makes you feel like that.”

_You did._

Amy doesn’t say it out loud, but it’s screaming in her head.

“It just wasn’t any fun anymore, between us I mean. You feel the same way,right?”

Okay, fair, but it hurt a lot more than she was willing to show. She just nods and gives a weak smile.

“Good, no worries, then?”

Amy wants to jump off a roof because that would be less painful that the realization that she was just so damn  _replaceable._

“Yeah. No worries.”

 

By Thursday, Shane was sending Amy a lot of side eyes. He didn’t even have to say anything, and she already felt guilty enough. It was a bad idea to go over to Ellie’s, she knew it the moment Oli picked her up Monday night. Instead of getting in the car, she took the box of Ellie’s things from the trunk and left them on the front porch steps. He didn’t say anything, just brought her home as promised, but with the way Shane was giving her the cold shoulder now, and the simple fact that Oli was wrapped around Shane’s little finger, she had some explaining to do. Confession time ended up being at Lunch, when Shane cornered her in the art hallway, Oli looking shamefaced at his side.

“Why did you hook up with Ellie? Are you out of your freaking mind?” He demanded, looking a bit intimidating for someone who was wearing a bowtie.

Amy shot a betrayed look over at Oli before answering. “Really, Already? I  _paid_ you not to tell him.”

Oli looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was eavesdropping before defending himself in a whisper. “I had to; he said he wouldn’t suck me off for three weeks.”

“And you believed him?”

“I can’t take that kind of chance.” He answered, automatically and unashamed.

Shane smirked smugly but changed his expression quickly, reminding himself that he was angry. “That’s beside the point; the point is that you’re supposed to be getting over her, not  _under_ her.”

Amy sighed, looking away. “I can’t just turn it off. I still care about her. Although, after listening to her call our relationship ‘a dead horse’, I’m pretty sure the feeling isn’t mutual.”

Shane looked at Amy, then back and Oli. They did that weird thing where they talked with their eyes, and Oli took his phone from his back pocket and started texting. Shane walked forward and linked his arm with Amy’s, grinning like he had the best idea in the world. Shane’s ideas were usually as dangerous as Amy’s plans.

“What are we doing?” She asked hesitantly as Shane led her out to the parking lot. School wans’t even half over yet.

  
“We’re going shopping, and Oli is texting everyone that counts. Now get in the car, we have a lot to do before Saturday.”

Well, that could only mean one thing.

  
Shane Harvey was throwing a party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think. Stop by tumlbr to say hi :)


	3. The party.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane has a party. Amy gets confused by a girl at the aforementioned party. Karma makes a guest appearance as forgotten best friend.

Sitting on the floor of her closet in her underwear wasn’t the most glamorous way to start off her Friday night, but at least it was a step up from last week.

“Did you try on the green one?” She heard Shane call from her room. She scrambled up and shifted through the growing pile on the floor, finding a green dress and quickly slipping it on. She took a quick glance in the mirror, seeing virtually the same dress as the last three she tried on, just in a different color. Opening her closet door and leaning against the door frame, she looked expectantly at Shane.

He was lounging on Amy’s bed lazily, and so far he hadn’t really served much purpose. Contrary to popular belief, neither of them usually spent more than twenty minutes thinking about how they looked. Still, according to Shane, this was important for Amy because she needed to feel a sense of “starting anew”. And the party was a perfect place to do that, so she needed the perfect outfit.

“It’s cute, but it’s not really …  _you._ ” Shane remarked looking up and down the dress as Amy gave a half-hearted twirl.

“You said that about the last three!” Amy frowned, sitting down on her desk chair.

“Well, the blue one was you … just, you from 2011.”

At least he was honest.

“Here, try this one.” He reached over for the shopping bags on the floor, pulling out a fitted black dress. She hadn’t liked it in the store when Shane insisted on trying something new, and she didn’t like it much now when she held it against her frame in front of the mirror in her closet. Still, it was  _different._

She pulled the green dress over her head, letting it hit the floor next to the other clothes she had tried on. Carefully slipping into the dress and a pair of shoes, Amy didn’t bother turning to look at her reflection before walking out of her closet, hands on hips.

“Well, what do you think?”

Shane looked a little shocked, actually, and Amy wasn’t sure if it was good or bad until a little smirk came to his face.

“Oh my god, you have an ass! You look _hot_.”

Amy turned back to her mirror, replicating the shocked face Shane had worn moments earlier. “Wow, you’re right. I do look hot.”

Shane waltzed over and placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them lightly and smiling in excitement. “Maybe plan B will work after all.”

 

It was basic fact that whenever Shane Harvey decided to throw a party, the majority of Hester high school would be there. When they became friends freshman year, Amy wasn’t sure how he was able to command so much attention. Now that she was his closest friend and partner in crime, she realized he was just magnetic. He had his off days, like everyone, but when he was having an on point day, everyone was wrapped around his finger.

The fact that he knew everything about everyone and had a reliable source of alcohol might also factor in by a small fraction.

Either way, on Saturday night, everyone was at Shane’s house. Amy had gone over early to help with pre-party things (i.e., the keg), and she’d changed into her dress and messed around with her hair, again trying something new. She used to wear her hair down a lot, because … Well, because  _she_ used to love running her fingers through it. Amy wasn’t going to think about her tonight, even if she had to be drunk in order for that to happen. She pulled her blonde hair into a bun and took out a few pieces here or there to make it not-too-perfect. After giving herself a little prep talk in the mirror, she stepped out of the bathroom and into the jungle that was a high school party.

Music was already pumping through the surround system in Shane’s Parent’s living room (who were conveniently out of town), and the place was already moderately packed with people when Amy reached the bottom of the stairs. Shane appeared behind her, handing her a beer. “You look perfect, now drink.”

She laughed easily, taking a modest sip while Shane tipped his head back and downed the last of his drink. A girl with dreds passed by them, obviously looking Amy up and down with an approving grin.

“Hey Raudenfeld, you look different … I like it.” The girl said, walking past and headed toward the kitchen. Amy just smiled awkwardly, talking through her teeth.

“Who was that?”

“She’s in debate, and kind of crazy. I wouldn’t go for it.” Shane warned, and then made a suggestive face. “But, hey, She was flirting with you. Maybe you should look into it _Raudenfeld._ ”

Amy grimaced, and just then Oliver appeared from the hallway and wrapped his arms around Shane’s waist, pulling him towards the sofa. “Baby steps!” he warned quickly before giggling and disappearing behind the others.

Now Amy was on her own, probably for the rest of the night. She couldn’t very well third wheel all night anyway. She wasn’t very good with small talk, but she made do talking to people around the house about small things. It was easy to stay distracted with the music, and the beer kept her anxious feelings at bay.

Two hours in, it seemed like a typical Shane Harvey party. Someone drank a bit too much and had jumped naked into the pool, causing a dozen or so others to follow in varying levels of undress. She’d seen at least three girls stumble and fall in their heels, and she’d been hugged by one drunk shirtless person.

Around midnight, Amy had her back against the wall and her third beer in her hand. She’d had a good time so far; she even danced with dreds girl, who turned out to be called Mara. She was a little too forward, hands running over the curve of Amy’s hips as they danced. She had thrown her arms around Amy’s neck at some point, pulling her close. Amy’s heart was beating in time to the music, and she was almost surprised when she was kissed. She didn’t pull away, feeling a mixture of surprise and longing. When she did pull away, Mara followed, trying to reattach herself.

"Just go with it." She whispered eyes half closed. They weren’t dancing anymore; the song had changed to something mellower. It took a second to identity over the talking and laughter around her, but it was the Arctic monkeys… She used to listen to them.

Fuck, there was a girl right in front of her begging to kiss her and she was still thinking of her.

Amy looked at Mara for a moment before giving a mental ‘fuck it’ and surging forward, kissing her fervently. It was easy to put everything away and focus on this. 

Eventually, they broke apart, Mara’s name being called across the room. She pulled a marker out of her bag and grabbed Amy’s hand, writing her number across the palm of her hand in purple sharpie ink.

"Call me. Bye raudenfeld." She pecked Amy on the lips once more and was gone.

Around two in the morning, the party started to die down as more people left. Amy sat next to the fireplace, which wasn’t lit, feeling more confused than ever. Did she really kiss someone she barely knew? Was she really  _that girl_  now? Was it okay to be that girl, after the emotional rollercoaster named Ellie?

It didn’t really matter the answer, it still felt wrong. What was she thinking?

That’s exactly what Shane asked her as he sat down next to her on the carpet. “Did I have one too many hard lemonades or did you make out with dreds girl? Wait, we both know. I saw it on vine.” Shane playfully hit her shoulder. “Explain yourself.”

“I don’t know.” She sighed, exasperated. “It was a moment of weakness slash confusion. I’m not even drunk enough to forget about it.” Amy sighed miserably as she lay down flat on the carpet. It was too early in the morning to care so much. She just wanted to sleep it off.

“Well, she’s not exactly the worst. Maybe you could rebound.” Shane comforted, patting her thigh before rising up to his feet. “Are you staying over?” Amy nodded. “Well, better grab the couch before someone else passes out on it.”

Shane was gone as quickly as he’d come, footsteps trailing his path upstairs and to his room. There were still a few stragglers at the party, and when Amy finally gathered the will to get up, she found that the couch in both the game room and the living room were occupied. A girl with pigtails ( _really?_ ) was curled up in the armchair, and there was a couple sleeping on the rug in the hallway. Amy took a detour to the kitchen, knocking over a couple of abandoned solo cups with her heels as she made her way to the fridge. She poured herself a glass of water and halfheartedly tidied up, leaving the dishes abandoned in the sink for later. Taking her water with her, she trekked upstairs to see if there was any luck there. Shane’s Bedroom door was closed, obviously that wasn’t an option.  Sleeping in Shane’s parent’s bed didn’t seem like much of a better idea, and the loveseat in the office had some sort of sticky liquid half-dried on it, and although she was tired, she wasn’t that desperate. There was one place she knew would be twice as comfortable and unlikely to be disturbed.

The bath tub.

Shane’s mom had one of those fancy spa bath pillows that attached to the white tub with little suction cups. After grabbing a thick blanket from downstairs and settling into the tub, it wasn’t so bad. Amy had discovered it a couple months ago, and it beat waking up with a neck cramp from the couch. She lowered herself down into the deep tub and wrapped the blanket around her, waiting to feel tired. She drank her water and picked at the frayed edges of the blanket, but she didn’t feel like sleeping. She felt lonely; it was Saturday night (Sunday morning, now) and she was sitting in a bathtub by herself.

Taking out her phone, she checked to see if her mom had called. She hadn’t, naturally. Amy almost put her phone away before she realized she still had Ellie’s number. She pulled up the contact, smiling weakly at the photo icon.  She started to write a text, erasing about twenty different versions before typing out “I miss you.”

Just as her thumb hovered over send, the bathroom door creaked open hesitantly and interrupted the pity party for one. Amy looked up to find Karma Ashcroft doe-eyed and confused.

“What are you doing here?” “What are you doing in a bathtub?”

They asked each other almost simultaneously. Karma smiled.

“I think you should answer me first.” The little brunette was wearing a soft pink dress and knee-high socks, her heels held in one hand as she closed the door behind her with another.

“I can close the shower curtain if you need to pee.” Amy supplied, tucking her phone under the blanket and sitting up. She watched karma cross the room and sit on the edge of the tub, shaking her head and swinging one foot.

“I was looking for you, actually.”

“Oh … why?” Amy replied dully. Karma didn’t reply right away, pushing her socks down until they cuffed around her ankles. When she finally did, it turned out to be expected.

“Shane found me upstairs before he went to his room. He told me he invited me so I could talk to you. I know the past few years have been kind of awkward for us, but I think he knows how close we used to be, you know, before everything.” Karma looked at Amy directly for the first time, and there was a little hurt there that Amy hadn’t noticed in a long time.  Maybe now wasn’t the right time to bring it up, but three in the morning was about as honest as anything could be.

“Look, Karma, for what it’s worth, I know I was mad at you, but I didn’t say anything at that party after Liam—“

  
“I know, Amy. I always knew.” She smiled softly, “I never said thank you for that, by the way.”

A little tension was relieved then, a little tension cloud that had been looming over them ever since the days that added up to the worst week of Karma’s life, and Amy’s by default.

But it wasn’t time for them to talk about it in depth. Karma jumped to change the subject. “But anyway,” She smiled brightly, throwing her legs over the side of the tub and resting her feet on Amy’s legs. “Tell me about this girl you made out with. Mara, right?”

Amy groaned and hid her face in her hands. “There’s nothing to talk about. It was the most half-assed attempt at a rebound in history.”

“Don’t you like her though? I mean, six seconds in a blurry video doesn’t say much, but it was something, right?”

Amy smirks, rolling her eyes playfully. “It was definitely…something.”

Karma raised her eyebrows and shook her shoulders suggestively, making Amy laugh.

“I miss your real laugh.” Karma said casually, but it held weight. It was quiet then, the air setting in and reminding them it was three in the morning.

“come lay with me.” Amy said, voice soft. Karma didn’t protest; too tired to remember that they hadn’t been on cuddling terms for a really long time. Maybe they could build back what they once had, because Amy really needed someone constant in her life, and even after all this time no one knew her better than Karma. That would just never change.

Amy scooted to one side of the bathtub and Karma slid down, crawling on her knees and slipping under the blanket, giggling. “We look ridiculous.” She laid her head on Amy’s shoulder and closed her eyes. The room fell silent again, and Amy figured Karma wasn’t going to say anything else and just go to sleep. That’s what she thought, but she still knew Karma too well to be surprised when her head popped up, eyes open and mouth ready to add one last comment.

“Remember when we made wishes on the glow stars in your room at our sleepovers?”

Amy kept her eyes closed but nodded. Karma laid her head back down, “Well I think you should wish for something.”

She doesn’t really think before replying, “I wish I’ll wake up and everything won’t be so hard.”

Karma doesn’t say anything, and Amy thought maybe she fell asleep. Then she felt her arm move to wrap protectively over Amy’s waist, hand resting on her hip.

 “I wish I could make that happen for you.” 


	4. The Plan K (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane’s plan K, part 1.

  
There had been a lot of times Amy woke up with hair that smelled like coconuts in her face.

When they were in middle school and had sleepovers every weekend, Karma would run in from her bathroom, hair still dripping wet, and jump into the pile of pillows in the fort they’d make in her bedroom. Amy would be in there already, reading or doing homework. She’d stop though, as Karma sat expectantly on a pillow. “You really should brush your hair after you get out of the shower.” Amy would say, and karma would roll her eyes. Then Amy would crawl over and sit behind her, separating dark brown hair into three sections, and started braiding. Karma would ramble on about whatever they were talking about before she went to shower (Zac Efron, gym class, shopping, pizza…) and Amy would listen, leaning in slightly to smell the all-natural home-made scent of the shampoo that Karma used. Even after she finished Karma’s hair and went to the kitchen to make popcorn, the fragrance lingered on her fingertips.

And later, when she woke up to sunlight shining in through the holes in the blanket-fort, she found Karma’s back to her and a little braid lying over her forehead, and she still smelled coconuts.

It felt a lot like that now, waking up at ten in the morning in a bath tub. The shower curtain blocked out most of the sunlight seeping in through the little window, and Karma’s hair lay fanned out, right in Amy’s face. They still lay under the blanket, Amy’s arm resting on Karma’s hip.

The first thing she smelled was coconuts. She smiled.

The first thing she heard was footsteps and the bathroom door opening. Then the sound of water from the faucet, Teeth brushing. She wondered if she should speak up, but she didn’t want to disturb Karma. Also, her arm was asleep and if she moved it to pull back to shower curtain she would get pins and needles. So she waited for Shane/Oli/Whoever to leave.

Soon enough, the shower curtain was pulled back to reveal a ray of sunlight and a very surprised looking Shane Harvey standing in his boxer shorts with a toothbrush in his mouth. Amy moved her hand from Karma’s hip and raised her pointer finger to her lips. Shane walked back over to the sink to rinse out his mouth and then turned back, voice set to barely above a whisper.

“What are you doing in the bath tub again? With Karma?”

She answered honestly, voice hushed. “We fell asleep.”

Shane crossed his arms over his chest, a puzzled expression on his face. “You barely talk for years and now you’re sleeping together?”

 “It’s not like that,” Amy sighed. “And you’re the one who told her to talk to me. She came in here all sleepy and nostalgic and adorable, I wasn’t going to kick her out and let her fall asleep on the lawn chair outside.”

Shane tried to hide a smile. “Good, then plan k is working.”

Amy ignored him and laid her head back down, pulling the blanket closer before the words set in. Her eyes popped open and narrowed back in confusion.

“Plan k? What’s plan k?”

Shane smirked and shrugged his shoulders like he hadn’t a clue what she was talking about and walked towards the door. “I don’t know, but I think I just heard Oli calling me. Better go. He likes to cuddle in the mornings.”

“Shane! What’s plan k? Like special k? What does it mean? Come back here!” Amy panics in a whisper-yell. Shane just waves goodbye with a flourish of his fingers and a cheeky smile, closing the bathroom door behind him. Karma shifts in her sleep at the sound and a few moments later, she turns over. Amy freezes. Falling asleep with Karma seemed like a good idea when she was so tired she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Now that she was awake, it felt really awkward and she had no idea what to say. Karma shifts again.

“Mmmph.” She mutters and cuddles closer to Amy, eyes still closed. “g’morning.”

“Um, Hi.” Amy whispers shyly. Karma opens her eyes and looks up at Amy’s hair, which is probably a mess since she left it up last night. She raises a tentative hand out from underneath the blanket and brushes her fingertips against the blonde strands straying away and poking out, smoothing them out with a gentle touch. Then she pulls something out of the middle, which turns out to be a bright yellow feather that she shows to Amy with a still sleepy, but genuine smile.

“I obviously didn’t know that was there.” Amy smirked, grabbing the feather away.

“Do I have anything? Eyeliner running perhaps Glitter on my face? A giant feather in my hair, maybe?”

Amy shakes her head, grinning. Karma sits up and stretches her arms out, quickly stepping out of the tub. She holds out her hand expectantly. Amy takes it, standing up and leaving the blanket in the tub as she followed Karma out of the bathroom and down the stairs. They wandered to the kitchen in search of food, and found it to be a total mess.

“I guess we should cook something.” Amy said to herself, walking over to the fridge and opening it, investigating the slim options. Karma had found a garbage bag and started picking up the empty cups and bottles littering the marble countertops.

“Are you okay with grilled cheese?” Amy suggested, carrying the bread over to the stovetop.

“Yeah, perfect.” She said distractedly, making a sour face as her hand accidentally touched a sticky spot on the counter and got a little stuck. “Just don’t forget the—“

“Extra cheese. Got it.” Amy smiled at her over her shoulder.

Amy made four grilled cheese sandwiches and Karma cleaned off the countertops, and the late morning fell into a comfortable silence.  As they were eating breakfast side by side at the table, making small talk about the party and school and such matters, they heard a loud thud from upstairs, quickly followed by footsteps coming downstairs. Shane appeared fully dressed with his hair done, a smile on his face quickly changing to a frown at the confused looks on both of the girl’s faces.

“Oh, Oli was just…there was this rope thing and…Um, is that grilled cheese? Thanks Amy.” He quickly recovered, grabbing his plate and joining them at the table. “This is so nice, my two favorite girls together again.” He rested his chin in the palm of his hand. “I knew it was a good idea to invite you Karma. Amy can finally stop leaving passive-aggressive post it notes on her mannequin. Everything is going according to plan.”

Karma smiled sweetly and shook her head fondly; picking up that Shane had something up his sleeve. “What plan, Shane?”

Shane turned to Amy with a clear enthusiasm, like he’d been waiting for this moment all morning.

"Okay, so it’s pretty clear to me that plans A and B didn’t work. Well, we don’t have a plan c… But we do have a plan k."

“Plan k?” Karma piped in, sipping her milk.

Shane huffs and pushes his plate away. “Plan karmy. Karma and Amy.” He gestures between the two of them as if it’s obvious.

“Did you know anything about this?” Amy looks at Karma inquisitively.

“No clue.”

Shane just continues. “Ooh c’mon. You get your rebound.” He points to Amy. “You get your best friend back.” (Points to karma, who looks down at her plate.)  “And most importantly, I get more free time with my boyfriend. Everyone’s happy.”

Both of them looked at Amy, searching her face for a reaction. In her mind, she was saying yes, what a great idea, she and Karma get to be friends again and everything will be perfect. Her mind told her that reasonably, it wasn’t that easy.

 “You can’t be serious.” Amy said at once. “Shane, karma isn’t -“

“I’m in.” Karma said quickly.

“You’re what?” Amy dropped her fork, and didn’t even notice when it fell off the table and clanked against the ground.

“I said I’m in. Amy, we both know that what happened is behind us, and I miss you. A lot.”

” I miss you too.” Amy admitted.

“If this is what it takes to get your mind off Ellie so that you can move on to someone that treats you the way you should be, I don’t see anything wrong with that. I’m fine with being your rebound.”

A smile is exchanged between the two, and Amy feels a little bit like she did before everything got in the way of the two of them. She felt protected by Karma, for the first time in a long time. Almost like they were back in the pillow fort, when things were simple.

“That’s sweet, but there’s still the tiny detail that everyone thinks you play for my side.” Shane speaks up. “Especially after the whole Liam thing…”

“We know Shane.” Both girls say; Karma’s words a little sharper than her intention.

“Point is. If you want to do this, really do this, it has to be believable.”

Amy’s shoulders slump. It is a really flawed plan, despite the perks. “and how are we going to do that? Everyone saw me kiss Mara, they’re not going to believe I’m dating karma. And they’re not going to believe karma realized she’s into girls overnight.”

“You did.” Shane blurts out honestly.

Amy shrugged and looked away from karma.

With that instant of sudden doubt, Karma kneels in front of her and holds onto both of her hands. “Hey Amy, look, who cares what they say about me? They already say enough. This is about you. I think Shane’s really on to something.”

Shane sits next to her and puts his arm over her shoulder. “You don’t have to go through with this if you don’t want to. I mean, Mara is a great second choice.” Shane makes a tongue face.

They all giggle and Amy shakes her head. “I mean, I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

“Perfect.” Karma says, hugging her.

“Well just take it slow, maybe it will work. But we’ll try, if you want.” Amy hesitantly held Karma too, waiting what felt like hours for her to let go.

“It better work. I don’t have any others plans.” Shane stole the last bite of Amy’s grilled cheese, as payment for his brilliant expertise. “Except one. You two helping us clean the rest of the house before my parents come back and royally chew me out?”

Amy looked over his shoulder into the living room, where she could see someone left over from the party getting up from the couch, stumbling and bumping into the coffee table, and then falling again, laying on the carpet with one shoe on.

“Yeah, it looks like you need the help.”

Shane smiled thankfully and took the last plate of food up to his room, saying he was going to have to bribe Oli to aid in the cleanup. Karma held her tight once more before flittering into the living room to help the stranger stumble in the direction of the door.

Amy sat at the breakfast table for a while, staring into space, wondering just what she was getting herself in to this time.


	5. The Plan K (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane’s plan K, part 2.

After all of the cleaning was done, it was already noon. Amy borrowed Oli’s car and drove Karma home, the trip comfortable but silent other than the sound of the radio. When the car came to a stop in the driveway, Amy turned to karma.

“Karma, don’t you think we should talk about this, I mean its fine if you didn’t want to say anything around the boys, but you can tell me if you think this whole thing is ridiculous.”

“Do you think this whole thing is ridiculous?” Karma wonders quietly. She has that look on her face, the look that is still familiar to Amy even after all this time. It’s the sad puppy dog face. The “please don’t let me down” face. Amy remembers the last time she saw it, and she immediately reaches over and gently pulls Karma’s hair over her shoulders, reassuring her with a smile.

“No, I just. . . I just don’t want to hurt you. Not anymore. Not again.”

Karma reaches over the divide and takes Amy’s hand in hers. There’s a moment of silence; there’s nothing that needs to be said. Amy thinks Karma could never forgive her, but it seems she already has.

A loud thud a few feet away from the car causes them to drop hands and look up, seeing Karma’s mom with a huge smile on her face and a garden hose at her feet. She collected the hose but her smile stayed intact, adding to a frantic motion for Amy to roll down the window.

“I’m so silly, I was just so surprised to see you here, Amy. Karma hadn’t told me you two were speaking again.”

Karma fidgeted awkwardly beside her. “It’s recent. So maybe you could, you know, not scare her off?”

Leaning against the car with folded arms, the kind-hearted woman ignored her daughter’s obvious embarrassment. “Oh Amy, we’ve missed you so much around here, Karma especially, of course,” (said person rolled her eyes and gathered her bag, ready to exit the car and the current situation) “You have to stay for Lunch.” Her eyes lit up with excitement.

“Thank you Mrs. Ashcroft, that’s really sweet, but this isn’t my car and I need to- “ Amy tried, delicately.

Karma’s mom threw her arms up, sending the garden hose flying. “I won’t take no for an answer. We already have chopped Kale salad and I’m making tofu ricotta shells with spinach, it’s one of Karma’s favorites, not that you would know that, silly me-“ She babbled on, and Karma groaned as she got out of the car.

“Welcome back to the craziness.” Karma muttered to Amy as her mom ushered them in throughthe front door.  After being thoroughly embraced by Karma’s dad and brother, Amy sat at the kitchen table with Karma and her family, freshly squeezed juice in her hand.

Once lunch was over, and after answering all of Karma’s Parent’s questions on what she’d been up to lately, Karma asked her to go on a walk. They made it about halfway down the street before Amy stopped and turned to Karma and asks her one more time if she’s up for this.

“Yes Amy, I told you,” Karma says gently, with a smile. It fades when she really looks to the other girl, and sees an expression of guilt mixed with a little sadness. “You’re really not over her at all, are you? Even after all she’s done, not just to you but-“ Karma’s voice cracked slightly, and she looked down, shutting down. She was slipping away, and Amy couldn’t let that happen, even if it meant going through with this crazy plan.

 “I’ll probably be moody and sad sometimes. I’m not like her, I can’t just forget about everything we had.” She supplies, linking her arm with Karma’s as they continue walking.

A weak laugh comes from the brunette, “You’re forgetting that I went through that too. If anyone knows how you feel Amy it’s me.”

_Oh. That hurt._

And it’s unspoken, but Amy feels it. As if karma were saying, “ _I went through the same thing. Only you weren’t there for me at all.”_ That’s when she decides that the plan isn’t just about Karma helping her get over Ellie, it’s about getting her best friend back. She stops again, pulling Karma into her arms. She buries her head against Karma’s shoulder and tries to hold back tears, eventually failing to as they roll down her cheeks and seep into Karma’s dress.

“I’m so sorry,” Amy whispers. “For everything, not just, you know . . . the ugly crying.” She sniffles, and Karma smiles, her own eyes watery. “It’s okay. I promise; it’s all okay. Let’s just forget about it all and pretend that we love each other.”

“Well we better, we’re dating, remember?”

They both laugh, and Amy holds her close for a few minutes before they start walking back towards Oliver’s car. Karma waves from her porch as Amy pulls out of the driveway.

“See you tomorrow, _Babe.”_ Karma teases as she turns towards the front door.

And if Amy almost hits the mailbox on her way out, neither of them say anything about it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm on tumblr as Confettikiss as well x


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